Niche filling slows the diversification of Himalayan songbirds

Fire-tailed Myzornis, an Old World warbler native to central Asia. (photo by Tom Stephenson)

Professor Trevor Price, CEB graduate student Daniel Hooper, and colleagues analyzed geographic and genetic relationships between 461 bird species from the Himalayan region of central Asia and found that competition for niche space limits species accumulation over time. Their findings are published in the May 8th issue of Nature. Trevor Price also wrote up a popular account of the research, which can be read here. Trevor and Daniel Hooper also provided photos of the Price lab and some of the bird species included in the data, which can be seen here.